All Replies on Buying a used Jet Jointer

18 replies so far

I don’t know about your area, but I routinely see older 6” Deltas for $250-300. The Jet is newer than those, so may be worth more, but to me an old Delta and a new Jet is going to perform about the same once they are set up.

Bottom line, if you are going to keep and use this tool for a long time, it is worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. If you are thinking about reselling it and upgrading in a few years, then you need to make sure you are getting fair market value so that you can get your money back out of it.

If this is an 8” jointer the price is not bad. If its a 6” jointer with flat knife head not a heliacal head then it is literally double what you should be paying for it. A jointer is one of those tools that are so basic that once you get it setup it will run for darn near forever without any problems. A jointer 6 years old really has no advantages over one 15 years old etc.

I’ve seen a couple Jet 6” jointers listed for around $200 and $250 recently but they sold immediately, suggesting they definitely could have sold for more. A couple that need some TLC are still on CL for $200 but the people who listed them aren’t very responsive.

Around here a 6” straight blade Jet was sold for $575 and a Powermatic 6” was sold around $700. I looked at both of them and they were in great condition. Have not seen a Delta I would want yet, they seem to be old and worn when they come up.

The Jet/PM at 6 years should be close to 50% which would be $450/550. The two I looked at could be wiped down to look like they were 6 months old, so I would have been willing to pay their selling prices.

I passed on both, not b/c of price, b/c I would be the next guy selling them for an 8” later in the year.

No shipping, no tax, with a mobile cart and in great condition and you can check the tables for co-planer flatness before you accept it!? Sounds like a great deal to me.

Not knowing what jointer it is or even seeing it, who knows. 6” jointers can be found fairly easily in the $200 ballpark (for example, there is a nice Boice Crane 1400 in SW Denver for $150), 8” jointers a bit more. Older (to a point) are also usually better, so a newer one is not as robust or built as well. Also, a mobile base for a jointer doesn’t cost anywhere near $150.

Thank you all, BroncoBrian, looks like you are in Colo Springs. I have been watching for several months and this is the nicest one I have seen. There was a Delta early on that was a better buy but I wasn’t ready. Let me know if you know of one in the area, Colo Springs is okay.

I ended up getting the 6” Jet Jointer, it looks like brand new, even sharp knifes! In my looking a found an almost new Jet Disk sander for $225, I think i’m going to trade my 30 year old Rockwell for. Thank you to all who commented, this is my first post, you were all very helpful.

Good score on the jointer.. I didn’t comment one way or the other, cause I figured you’d either buy it, or leave it alone. And you had plenty of help in the decision. I had a Delta 6”, and sold it to my neighbor for $300, and that included the mobil base. That was a year ago, and I still haven’t replaced it. I’m after an 8”, preferably a Delta, cause most of my machines are Delta, and I’ve had good luck with them..Have fun making chips…..

I did get the jointer from Erie and yes it was well taken care of. I ended up paying $500, which is on the high side but the machine is perfect. The tables are true and polished. What do you think about the sander?

You did fine. I think some people are undervaluing a tool that looks like new. That was an woodshop employees jointer and it should be 95% the same as one you pull out of a crate today for $500 more.

I have seen a lot of the $200-$400 Delta jointers for sale on CL. Most of them look like crap. Not sure if people expect used tools to look uncared for. Maybe that is why most items I sell go in a few hours and for asking price. Take care of that jointer, you will love it.

I have seen a lot of the $200-$400 Delta jointers for sale on CL. Most of them look like crap. Not sure if people expect used tools to look uncared for.

Best bang for the buck… the uglier the better. Of course, you will have to put a little bit of effort into getting it into shape – which a lot of people can’t or don’t want to do. Everyone is different. But the end result is a superior machine that is better than new at a fraction of the cost.